Los Angeles, Calif. – The Colorado Mesa men's soccer NCAA Tournament continues as the fourth-seeded Mavericks travel west to Los Angeles, California to take on top-seed Cal. State LA, Thursday 6 p.m. at University Stadium.

Fans can watch the live broadcast or follow along with live stats at the links above.

Bracket Breakdown
The NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Committee announced the field of 40 teams for the 2021 NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship, Monday (Nov. 15).

Ten teams were selected from each of the four super regions. Teams from the same region will be paired for first- and/or second-round competition, which will be conducted Nov. 18-21 on campus sites. Third-round/quarterfinals will be held on campus sites and completed by Dec. 2-5. The semifinals and final will be played Dec. 9 and 11 at Switchbacks FC Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colorado hosted by Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. In the 2019 championship, Charleston (West Virginia) beat West Chester 2-0 to claim their second national championship title in three years.

A total of ten teams from the Super Region qualified for the NCAA Tournament with automatic spots going to the champions of the five conferences in the Super Region.  The Pacific West Conference and Great Northwest Athletic Conference's representative are determined by the regular season standings while the LSC, RMAC and CCAA (California Collegiate Athletic Association) spots are awarded through the post-season tournaments.

The teams selected to the championship from each region are as follows in rank order:

Super Region 1

1. Franklin Pierce (19-1) *
2. Charleston (WV) (17-1-1) *
3. Wilmington (DE) (16-3-1) *
4. Millersville (15-5) *
5. Gannon (16-3-2)
6. Davis & Elkins (16-1-2)
7. American Int'l (14-4-1)
8. Lock Haven (13-3-2)
9. Post (12-5-1)
10. Molloy (10-6-4)

Super Region 2

1. Young Harris (17-0-1) *
2. Palm Beach Atl. (13-2) *
3. West Florida (11-3-3) *
4. Tampa (13-3) *
5. AUM (10-3-3)
6. Chowan (13-3-1)
7. Nova Southeastern (12-3-1)
8. Limestone (10-4-1)
9. Lenoir-Rhyne (10-5-1)
10. Coker (11-6-2)

Super Region 3

1. UIndy (15-1-2) *
2. Lake Erie (15-3-1) *
3. Wis.-Parkside (15-3-2) *
4. Ill. Springfield (12-5-2) *
5. Maryville (MO) (13-3-3) 
6. Fort Hays St. (13-5-2)
7. Lewis (11-4-3)
8. Cedarville (13-4-1)
9. Ohio Dominican (11-6-3)
10. Davenport (11-7-1)

Super Region 4

1. Cal State LA (14-2-2)*
2. Midwestern St. (16-2-1) *
3. Azusa Pacific (12-2-2) *
4. Colorado Mesa (16-3-1) *
5. Colo. Sch. of Mines (14-4-1)
6. West Tex. A&M (13-4)
7. Cal Poly Pomona (12-4-3)
8. CSU Pueblo (14-5-2)
9. Seattle Pacific (12-3-2)
10. Biola (11-6)

*Denotes host site 

Familiar Territory
The Mavericks return to the NCAA tournament for the sixth time in program history, and the first since the 2018 season.

During the 2018 run, Colorado Mesa upset No. 6 seeded MSU Texas using a 5-4 advantage in PKs. They would be halted in the next round in an overtime heartbreaker at the hands of West Texas A&M.

Their record of 3-5-2 in NCAA appearances is highlighted by the 2014 squad who captured the South-Central Regional Championship defeating all nationally ranked teams in the process. Charlie Dukes heroics in the title match came just two minutes and 16 seconds left in regulation. The goal would hold for the remainder of the match as the Mavs historic season took them into the Final Four.

Rhett Cook, Isa Trujillo, Chris Boyd, Ross Elliott, Colton Shafer, Tristan Widic, Ethan Anderson, Nick Rizzo are all current members of the team who were also apart of the 2018 squad.

Boyd and Rizzo recorded minutes in both the Mavs NCAA games that season, while Anderson was a key player in the first-round match netting the team's fourth PK attempt after Briley Guarneri made the stop on MSU Texas's previous attempt.

A Look at the Herd
The Mavericks have compiled 53 goals, refusing to give opponents no more than 12. After surpassing the 100-shot mark after the first meeting with Fort Lewis, they have struck 361 times averaging 17.2 per-game. Of their total shots, they have placed 156 on target for a .432 SOG percentage.

Throughout their RMAC tournament run they outscored opponents by a 6-1 margin.

Their offensive threat extends by getting into scoring territory and keeping ball in the opponent's half with an 122-87 edge in corner kicks.

In terms of goals, the Mavericks have tallied 16 game winners and were the first to strike on 15 of those outings. They came away with two overtime goals and five equalizers. Now with 58 assists, they remain atop the RMAC, averaging just under three per game and have 20 more than the next team.

Defensively, they sat atop the RMAC boasting a .583-goals against average, ahead of CSU Pueblo. As previously mentioned, they have allowed just 12 goals by opponents, tallying 12 shutouts in process.

Out of Westminster, Colorado, goalkeeper Connor Durant has stepped into the role and played significant time between the pipes. With over 1,700 minutes logged, he's conceded just 10 goals for the nation's third best rank of a 0.52-goals against average, with 10 solo clean sheets under his belt. His .867 save percentage to led the RMAC and all Division II this season, collecting a season high seven saves on three separate occasions, and went five straight games without allowing a goal through.  

Scouting the Golden Eagles
The Cal State LA Golden Eagles advanced to the Thursday's third round matchup after defeating fellow RMAC member CSU Pueblo, 2-1, back on Nov. 20. The team's first goal came just before the end of the first half, Gonzalo Talavera converting off a free kick. Jorge Orellana then hastily added to the Golden Eagle's lead just two minutes into the second half.

CSU Pueblo spoiled the shutout, scoring in the 72^nd minute but came up short of evening the score.

The win gave Cal State LA their 15^th win of the season, sporting a 15-2-2 overall record, finishing the CCAA schedule 10-0-1 securing the regular season and tournament titles. They breezed through their conference tournament with a 4-2 triumph over Cal State Dominguez Hills in the semi, before fending off Cal Poly Pomona, 3-1 in the championship match. They are riding a six-game win streak, after a draw with Cal State Monterey Bay on Oct. 24.

They have collected 39 goals, conceding just 12, and average just about two goals per game. With an average of 11.4 shots per game, they have put 112 of their 216 total shots on goal.

Senior midfielder David Elizaga is the team leader in assists and shots, with 19 and 31, with three goals to his credit. Senior, Morten Bjoershol is listed as a defender but is the leading offensive contributor with six goals. Talavera who added the extra goal in the second round, has five goals on the season, taking just six shots on goal.

Series History
There have been two previous meetings between the Mavericks and the Golden Eagles. The first back in 2011, where the west team captured the first meeting, 3-0. The Mavericks would even the series, prevailing 1-0 in the 2014 regional final – sending the south central team to the final four.